Rubber shoe



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\ E.. STOUT.

RUBBER SHOE. No. 384,097.v Y 1 Pgtentedhm 5, 1888.

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NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ELISHA STOUT, OF LAMBERTVILLE, NEV JERSEY.-

RUBBER SHOE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 384,097l 'dated June 5, 1888.

Application tiled April 5, 1887. Serial No. 233.782. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, ELIsHA STOUT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Lambertville, in the county of Hunterdon and State of New Jersey, have invented new and useful Improvements in Boots or Shoes, of which the following is a specification. v

My present invention is an improvement on the rubber boot or shoe described in Letters Patent No. 295,062, granted to me March 11, 1884; and it consists of a boot or shoe in which the upper is made of a combined fabric of rubber and duck to a height at which it is still convenient to draw such inelastic boot or shoe onto the foot, and in which the upper above that point is made of rubber alone, or, preferably, of rubber combined with an elastic lining fabric, as hereinafter set forth, whereby such boot or shoe can be readily drawn on and off and make a neat lit, without the usual necessity of providing it withbuckles, buttons, lacings, or elastic gores. v

In the article of foot-wear described in my above-mentioned patent the entire upper is composed of a fabric of rubber, duck, and felt arranged in sheets or layers closely united throughout. As this fabric is comparatively inelastic, it is not kwell adapted to high-cut shoes or boots in which a neat fit is desired, owing to the difficulty of drawing the boot or high shoe off or on. 4To overcome this difficulty and produce a rubber boot or shoe em bodying the advantages of the combined rubber and duck fabric as to warmth and durability, and at the same time capable of being placed on the foot and removed easily, is the object of my invention. This I accomplish by making my improved rubber boot or shoe of afabric of rubber and duck, or rubber, duck, and felt, as described in my said former patent, only to a height at which it is convenient to draw the boot or shoe off or on, consistent with a proper fit, while above that point I dispense with the duck and use rubber alone, or rubber combined with some suitable elastic lining material. I thus produce a rubber boot or high-cut shoe embodying the advantages of my former invention, and yet capable of fitting the foot snugly and of being drawn on and off easily, without requiring it to be 'provided with buttons, buckles, lacings, elastic gores, or other fastenings.

In the annexed drawings, Figure 1 is a side view of a rubber highcut overshoe, illustrating my invention. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal view of the same.

To carry my invention into effect, I unite, by means of cement, a piece of duck, A, or similarinelastic fabric, and a piece of any other textile material, B, preferably elastic and suitable for the lining of an overshoe. The piece of duck A and the piece of elastic lining B will be relatively cut in such dimensions and be so united that the elastic lining will extend above the duck to the top of the boot or shoe, while the inelastic duck will extend only to a height that will enable the boot or shoe to be drawn on and off readily. Any suitable cement-preferably a thin sheet or film of rubber or rubber cement-can' be applied to the adj acent surfaces of the duck and elastic lining, and they can be rmly united by passing them between heated rolls.

` After the boot or shoe upper has been properly shaped from the above-described fabric, and the seams securely closed with cement in any well-known manner, the entire outer surface of the boot or shoe will be covered with repeated layers or lilms of rubber, C, spread on the exterior faces of the duck and that portion of the lining extending above the same until the desired thickness and finish are attained.

In a boot or shoe of this construction the exterior surface is smooth, tough, and attractive, and will not break, crack, or peel ofi", while the duck or like material adds to the Warmth of the shoe and increases its durability. By not extending the duck to the top of the shoe, and

ter-proof stockings have heretofore been combined in a single article of footwear. I am also aware that rubber shoes have been provided with cloth tops and elastic insteps, and that rubber shoes have also embodied an elastic fabric and an exterior, interior, or interposed layer ofrubber. I am also aware of the arti cles described in patents to Goodyear, No. 849,

IOO

.my 24., 183s, Eniott, N0.12o,252, october 24, 1871, and Bibbins, No. 170,332, November 23, 1875. These, however, I do not claim, and my herein-described invention differs therefrom in embracing only a boot or shoe composed of a combined fabric of rubber and duck, or like inelastic material, in which the duck or like inelastic material does not extend to the top of the upper; and, further,in combining an elastic lining with the rubber and interposed duck in a boot or shoe in which the duck or like inelastic material does not extend to the top. It is obvious, however, that the elastic lining, when used, need not cover the inner surface of the duck, its primary object being to provide an elastic inner support for the upper part of the shoe above the point to which the duck or likeinelastic material is extended. Thelining ofthe shoe up to the upper edge of the duck can therefore be made of any inelastic material, while above this point an elastic material Will be used both Afor the inner and outer surfaces of 1.

the shoe, or for the upper part of the shoe rubber can be used alone Without any lining.

Having thus described my invention, what I 25 claim isl. A boot or shoe composed of a combined fabric of rubber and duck in which the rubber forms an outer covering for the duck and is extended above the same to the top of the shoe, substantially as described.

2. A boot or shoe composed of a combined fabric of rubber and duck in Which the rubber forms an outer covering for the duck and is extended above the same to the top of the shoe, that portion of the rubber above the duck being provided with an elastic lining, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I afx my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

ELISHA STOUT.

W'itnesses:

NV. A. GREENE, GEO. W. PRALL. 

